2009 ABC National Open Gun Dog Championship October 20-24, 2009 Ionia, Michigan

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1 2009 ABC National Open Gun Dog Championship October 20-24, 2009 Ionia, Michigan Reported by Helen Riggle Photos courtesy of Andre Coulombe and Julie Romence Left to right: Drew Carter, Judge Ken Chenoweth, Jim Carter with Champion Peter Gunn, Judge Bill Landress, Bob Burchett with Runner-up Sniksoh Sally, Phil Corlew, Tommy Thomas, Judge Ed Janulis, Kevin Stonehouse with third place winner Oz II, John & Allison Cotton, Rob Richter with 4th place winner RC s Ruff Ranger, and Larry Bates. Tuesday morning, Day 1 dawned with temps in the upper 40s and the whisper of possible rain to come by afternoon. The air in camp was sizzling with anticipation as handlers, scouts and dog wagon were prepared for the day. Dawn came at approx. 7:50 AM and the first brace of dogs were cut loose promptly at 8 AM. BRACE 1 FC Brook s Little Pete - Jim Carter and DC/AFC Country Roads Rough Rider - Bob Burchett. Pete took a hard fast start and was last seen from the break away going away to the front. This was the last we would see of Pete for the next 21 minutes until handler Jim let his nerves get the best of him and he pulled his tracker in the old barn field. Pete was found very shortly there after standing on point just about 75 yards to the front when brace mate Cooper rolled in and established point. Cooper s first find was 7 minutes into the breakaway and his second piece of bird work was at 22, exhibiting excellent manners and good style on both. This seasoned veteran took his lines well and applied himself to the job at hand with beautiful gait and consistent ground race, setting the pace for the day. BRACE 2 High Tail Flyer - Gene Knotts and DC Britt Haven s Blaze Of Glory - John Perry. The brace cut loose from the bottom of the derby field by the gun dog parking lot. Both dogs broke away hard, making a bee line for the front. Blaze reached the trees at the shot gun range first, slamming a nice point at 7 minutes at the north end of the tree line. Flyer followed closely behind and was credited for the honor work on Blaze s dead bird find. Blaze went on and ran a consistent and hard race, using his cover and edges well. This boy was captivating and fun to watch as he rolled up and through a tree line to stop and honor Flyer s second piece of bird work which was a very nice covey find some 20+ yards down the trees at 17 minutes. Blaze was cut loose once again, and he ran/hunted well but was picked up by his handler at 25 minutes after his second non productive. Flyer continued to hunt hard and had a total of 4 finds in his hour. The brace concluded at the bottom of cardiac hill. BRACE 3 FC/AFC Wrigley s First Dance - Gil Hopper and FC/AFC In It For The Fun, MH, - Wayne Hale. The brace started off well with both dogs hunting to the front. Wrigley s First Dance had a total of three finds and was hunting very hard. She checked and covered all of her available objectives nicely with a snappy style of running. Her happy feet were her ultimate demise at 22 and she was ordered up for marking her finds a little harder then the judges liked. In It for the Fun was having fun! He is a hard hunting boy who had 3 solid honoring opportunities which he took and did with style and one bird of his own. All of the cover was a tad overwhelming for this boy and he was ordered up at 26 because he had suddenly gone deaf and began to quarter the open fields too much. BRACE 4 NGDC/FC/AFC Buck s Hit The Road Jack - Ralph Kiracofe and FC King of Pop s - Brian Riggle. The brace took off at the old barn field and almost immediately both dogs stuck point at the first cut through. Handled as a divided find, these two seasoned dogs handled the flight of the birds with excellent manners and high style. Jack rolled on and got his second piece of birdwork at 12 minutes and a third bird in the derby field at 20. King in the meantime had his second bird at the top of the boy scout bridge and his third point coming into the bottom of the derby field, which was an open field find. After a cautious flushing attempt, Brian took it as a non productive and turned King loose once 10

2 2009 National Open Gun Dog Judges, left to right: Ken Chenoweth, Bill Landress and Ed Janulis. again. King established point for a fourth time in the orchard which resulted in his second non productive. At 45, King had his fifth piece of solid work in the long run field with his usual high style. Jack had his fourth piece of bird work in long run field at 46 minutes. Both dogs finished the hour. BRACE 5 DC Breton s Truckee River Gold - Linda Azevedo and ngdc/fc/afc Bj s Blaz n Daisy - Brian Hendrickson. Unfortunately this brace was a quick one. It was the first brace of the afternoon and Daisy took off from the start with blaz n speed. She was not seen again until the scout found her 15 minutes later standing high and tight in the upper corner of the old barn field. By the time the handler and judges reached her however, she felt she had been standing long enough and simply walked off her bird. Handler Brian elected to pick her up. Paige started off on a good note but was soon overwhelmed by the cover and gave her handler Linda a bit of challenge. She quartered well and was hunting hard, taking her wood lines and edges as best as she could. She was sucked into the woods a time or two, losing her bearings. By the time they reached the old barn field however, she settled back into her quartering pattern and the judges picked her up at 18 for lack of performance. BRACE 6 FC/AFC Ricochet Hemi Baracuda - Bob Burchett and DC/AFC scirocco Del Prado - Les Casselberry. Buck had a lovely The gallery in the first brace watching a find. 11 forward race, running his edges well and with consistency. Unfortunately he had zero birds. He was picked up at 50 minutes for lack of bird work. Rico was off the breakaway line like a shot. He was seen only one time at 12 minutes making his way from the woods to the next field. Handler pulled the tracker at 21 minutes. BRACE 7 Une s Blazing Jake - Linda Azevedo and DC Wild Mtn s Lone Star Rendezvous - Brian Riggle. Jade came into heat and was bumped to the bottom of the stake. Jake ran alone and in place with a snappy run and good consistent hunting application. He handled the cover and objectives well, coming into the top of the derby field at 31 minutes for his one and only established point. After an extended flushing attempt the handler finally produced only a banana peel which, after a bit of discussion the judges decided to rule against as fair game. Jake finished the hour strong with no bird work. Wednesday, Day 2. The scattered sunshine of Tuesday was to become a thing of the past as the clouds rolled in to stay and the humidity levels rose. The temps remained comfortable for all, hanging in the low 60s but all remained dry in spite of that rain rumor that still hung over us. BRACE 8 Windy Hill Ben - Brian Hendrickson and Rovan s Rock Ridge Win Jammer - Phil Bogdanovitch. Ben had a fast and hard start off the break away with a huge cast. Ben wasn t seen again until the handler pulled his tracker at 18 and found him on point. Jammer however went right to work when he was let loose. His first find was within the first 5 which was possibly a woodcock find. A relocation and extended flushing attempt resulted in a non productive and Jammer was sent on. At 10 minutes approx. 75 yards up from the phantom woodcock, Jammer established point again and this time the bird was produced and Jammers manners were all in good order. His 3rd piece of bird work came as he came in to back his lost brace mate and was called out as standing by the other handler. Bird was flushed and Jammer was taken on. Jammer finished his hour with no other birds but noticeably slowed down after 45 minutes. This hard hunting little dog did great job until he ran out of gas. BRACE 9 FC W-Haven Moose and Dixie s Kim - Bob Burchett and AFC spring Hill s Hemi Magnum - Sue Lehosky. Both dogs were smart and snappy off the break away at the bottom of the derby field. Unfortunately at 5, Nash showed the judges and gallery just how much fun it was to re-live his second puppyhood when he got under and chased a covey. Kim went on to continue hunting, doing a great job the first half of her brace. Her first find was at 20 minutes at long run, second and third finds at 30 and 33 respectively. This happy girl made absolutely all of the right moves to have won the stake on any other day

3 Chuck & Theda Langstaff with the dog wagon gallery (left), Helen Riggle, reporter, (above) and Ron Gulembo, course marshal (right). but on this day she ran out of steam after her third find. Had she stayed the hour with as good and strong a ground game as when she began, it would have been a spectacular championship performance. BRACE 10 NGDC/FC/AFC Hit s For Pete s Sake - Judy Kiracofe and Rovan s Rock Ridge Rt Ascend - Phil Bogdanovich. The two dogs broke away on course one heading to cardiac hill. The break away was strong and Pete carried the two forward nicely. Mid way down cardiac hill Rocky made a big cast to the right, resulting in a find. The handler successfully flushed and Rocky was sent on. Pete, in the meantime was busy laying down a heck of a ground race with good forward momentum and great speed. Bird #1 was at the 10 minute mark coming into course two at the end of the old barn field. At 17, he slammed point on bird #2 which was, in actuality, a nice covey find. At 39, he struck point once again and was still ever so stylish, holding high and tight for the flush and shot. His fourth and final find was at 59 coming into the derby field with another covey setting to wing. A very consistent, strong race for the entire hour made this boy the first real contender of the day. BRACE 11 FC/AFC Peter Gunn - Jim Carter and DC/AFC Wrigley s Chip Makin His Marc - Mike Poehler. These two had their break away at the bottom of the old derby field which carried them both forward with a good strong pace through the orchard and on into long run where they both had their first pieces of bird work. Chip had his first find in the bottom tree line and Peter buried himself in the woods up along the top tree line to be found by scout Drew. Chip s bird was flushed and he continued on. Peter however had found himself a dead bird in those woods and he was sent on only to stick it hard not 30 seconds and 15 yards later on a stop to flush. Chip had his second find at 30 minutes with all manners in order but was picked up by his handler at 50 for hunting with a shorter gun dog range then was desirable for the stake. Peter s third find was in a mott at 25 minutes, the result of a nice big cast up and to the right near the old burial grounds. The fourth and final find was to be the result of a huge cast to the left that carried Peter back to the bottom of the derby field from the top of the derby field, still going away to the front. Peter set a tremendous pace, hunting wide and ranging well in his quest for game. This boy showed drive, heart, and consistency in what was to become the run of runs for this 2009 Championship. BRACE 12 Rovan s Tail Wind Tommy - Ivan Clark and NAGDC/FC/ AFC High Hope s Fly By Nite - Al Cropek. Breakaway after lunch from the clubhouse, course 1. Zoey had her first bird pretty much off the break away between 3 and 4 minutes right in the tree line to the right. It was to be a non productive (was it Brace 8 s phantom woodcock maybe?) From there, her run began to open up and it looked as if she 12 was going to give Pete and Peter a run for their money with her good application and line work. At 12 minutes coming into the old barn field she slammed point, solidly telling her handler she had another bird. The handler did his best to flush for her but 10 minutes and 5 relocation attempts later the team had still not produced. Faced with his second non productive, handler made the heart wrenching decision to move on and as he collared Zoey, the bird ran like a raped ape from beneath Zoey s belly and the chance at this Championship, at least, was over. Tommy, meanwhile had his first bird at 15 minutes but at the 35 the handler picked him due to the heat and lack of performance. BRACE 13 DC Rico s Hi-Proof Bootlegger - Bob Burchett and JJ s Special Edition - John Chokran. These two dogs started the brace on fire. With the change in the wind, Zip and Mason hunted all of the available cover and did it with gusto for approx minutes. At 24, Zip had shut down and his handler picked him up. Mason continued to hunt and finished the hour forward, although he went birdless. BRACE 14 Boudreaux s Hi Caliber Bullet - Darlene Dow and upland Acres Overland Xpress - Bob Burchett. These two were slow to get rolling off the starting line. Cali hunted but her range was not her usual for reasons unknown to her handler. After 30 minutes her handler opted to pick her up because Cali just wasn t on her game on this day. Overland Xpress on the other hand appeared to pick up speed and managed to get rolling for the second half of his brace. He scorched around the remainder of the course very well but did not have any bird work to speak of. Thursday, Day 3, the weather remained clouded up and rain threatened to become more of a soaker rather then the cloudy, sometimes misty wet we experienced on this day. Fortunately the rain held off for the entirety of the day and 7 more braces were completed. BRACE 15 FC Bulloch s First In Line Alvin - Terra Bulloch, and FC Charob s Kickin Sumbuddy s Az - Delmar McCallister. Alvin came off the break away into his first point within 5 minutes. The bird flushed wildly just as the handler stepped off her horse and Alvin was sent on. This driven little dog left no stone unturned and no cover unchecked as he hunted his way along the course with his handler. His snappy style of going was captivating to watch. His performance was well executed and he hunted his heart out as any quality gun dog should do. At 56 minutes he slammed a beautiful point just across the creek coming into the derby field but no bird was produced. Punk left the break away with his usual speed, disappearing from sight rather quickly. He was brought back into handle and he seemed to settle into hunting well enough. At the 25 minute mark, however, the handler elected to pick up due to lack of performance in his opinion. BRACE 16 FC/AFC Covey Rise s Rambo - Bob Burchett and FC/AFC

4 JJ s Wandering Star - John Chokran. This brace broke away from the bottom of the derby field and was over almost as soon as it started. Like two bright stars that burn their way across the night sky, Rambo and Star burned their way up to the orchard with white hot speed and determination. Rambo slammed point mid way and to the right and Star blazed past him, missing the opportunity to show the judges her honoring skills while Rambo held tight. Star was caught and picked up. Bob attempted to set a bird to flight with his flushing but no bird ever materialized. Electing to take the non productive and go on, Rambo came to his second piece of bird work at the 12 at long run which resulted in some shenanigans that had Bob digging his heals into his horse to catch the dog that had punched the bird up and gotten under it for a merry chase. BRACE 17 FC/AFC Coke s Barton Hollow Bear - Chris Rider and FC Boot s Chip of Conjuror Bay - Ralph Kiracofe. Bear and Chip came off the breakaway strong and with purpose. The initial range and speed for both was what Championship runs are made of. Six minutes in, Bear had his first find and Chip came in for a nice piece of honor work. All manners were in order and the dogs were let loose. At 10 and again at 17, Chip has a finds of his own and was standing tall on the latter when Bear roared by him. Bear was picked up for failing to back and the third bird was successfully flushed for Chip. Going on, but now settled into hunting with determined purpose, he had his fourth and fifth pieces of bird work at 25 and again at 59. With the clock ticking down, the last find resulted in an extended flush and a relocation that finally produced the bird. Chip had finished the hour well. BRACE 18 FC Sniksoh Sally - Bob Burchett and FC Blue Rock s Diamond Girl - John Perry. This brace started at the top of the old barn field and 3 minutes after being let go, Sally comes to stand on point for her first bird. The bird is flushed and she s looking good to go on from there. Diamond and Sally are well matched in speed and together these two lay it down as they scream along the lines racing to the next bird which happens at the 15 minute mark when the two are seen on the far side of the lines coming into the top of cardiac. Diamond is found on the honor of Sally s second find. Sally s third bird is midway down cardiac when she swings into the woods to hunt which brings her out front and shows her standing steady nicely. Diamond, in the meantime is hunting well in a forward fashion and is handled into the honor work on Sally s third find. Diamond has a bird of her own at 55 while Sally has her fourth bird at the 47 way up on the plateau of the derby field and is found standing high and tight maintaining her style through the shot. Both dogs finished this hour strong. This was a nice brace to watch. BRACE 19 K-Nine s Ghost Rider - Brian Riggle and DC/AFC Ginjac s Heating It Up - Jeff Currier. Another good brace to watch, these two dogs were also well matched for each other and well toned to last the hour. Maverick ran a good ground race, sailing smoothly around the course, sticking to the lines nicely and in general staying in good handle with Brian. Cajun, too did a great job although he got a tad wide coming into the top of cardiac which in the end probably cost him. But this is the stuff that National Championships are made of and it is these small moments that add the excitement to the memories. Cajun had 3 finds total, his first was almost immediately off the break away, his second was in the old barn field at 15, which Maverick honored beautifully and his third was at 55 minutes, midway up the derby field at the bottom of the plateau. Maverick again honored with high style. The brace finished with both dogs going away and still running strong to the front. BRACE 20 DC/AFC sweetwater Billy Tucker - Larry Bates and DC Country Road s Boilermaker - Bob Burchett. Breaking away from the gun dog parking lot, Tucker hits his first bird at the 4 minute mark in the orchard. Pete fails to back and is immediately ordered up. 20 yards further up Tucker sticks it again and the bird is flushed, all manners in order. At 20 minutes, in the first field on the far side of the levee, Tucker again establishes point where a small covey is set to wing. At 28 minutes he again sticks it but after an extended flush and relocation attempt, the handler takes it as a non-productive and rolls on. Rolling along with beautiful gait, good range and quiet handling, Tucker comes to his fifth find at 51 which produces a dead bird. Tucker s final find was at 56, which produced a singleton. The Larry/Tucker team are seasoned veterans of this Championship game and it was a pleasure to watch them work so well and so smoothly together. BRACE 21 NAGDC/DC/AFC Triumphant s To Hot To Handle, JH - Jeff Currier and Oz II - Kevin Stonehouse. This last brace of day 3 would bring with it, cooling temps and a surprising performance coming out of left field. Nitro set his pace with Jeff, coming into his first bird at 12 minutes. A shift and change in the wind made this an extended flush which was taken as a non productive. At 18 Nitro finds his second bird, resulting again in an extended flushing attempt and 4 relocations before a foot soldier is sent running down the line. The shot is fired and Nitro is sent on. At 27 Nitro has a third bird, and he finishes his hour going away stronger then he started. Oz in the mean time is tearing it up and scorching the course. At 10 he has his first find coming into the old stone wall, and at 13 after a HUGE cast through the valley, has his second bird in Hires field. He continues to run at a consistent if not somewhat more determined pace after that and at 58 has a final find coming back into the derby field. This boy came out of no where and put down as close to a Championship performance for his first half of the run as anyone can get and then settled into being a well tuned hunting partner with good range and good forward momentum for the remainder of his hour. The touching display of emotion at the end of this performance as expressed by a VERY happy handler confirmed that it was job very well done in his eyes and a job worthy of recognition, no matter what the final outcome of this championship would be. This little dog from Kansas had arrived and solidly laid down the gauntlet for sure. Friday, Day 4 dawns with a steady downpour of rain and 40 degree temps. The rain continued for the entire day, making good bird work a premium if not a scarce thing and leaving the judges, handlers, horses and dogs wet and chilled. Exact details of this day are a bit water logged as writing in notes and using the digital recorder became quite the challenge!!! Those that made it through this day at all did so on teamwork, grit and determination. BRACE 22 CH Ru-Jem s Prairie Win - Gil Hopper and FC/AFC Pale Rider - John Sala. The breakaway for this brace was strong and fast. Win took his edges well and Duke sailed around the course like the seasoned contender that he is with barely any notice of the rain. Duke had an outstanding run for the first 15 minutes resulting in 4 total finds, with staunch steadiness on wet birds that wouldn t/couldn t fly. His fifth bird became his demise when the little wet hen was flushed directly at the dog and Duke could no longer resist the temptation to catch her mid air. Duke was up at the 24 minute mark. Win had a total of 3 pieces of work, the first being an honor on Duke s second find, the second called as a divided find just 15 or so yards down the line. The third bird was too much as he too grabbed a soggy quail mid air at 23 minutes BRACE 23 CH Tonan s Always Time For Me - Janet Garrell and Hit s All Jacked Up - Joe Sikorski. Breaking away through Hires field with heavy rain and the colder temps had Sara and Jack running hard. At 10 Jack stuck point on the new fence line that was installed earlier in the week along cardiac and Sara was handled into the honor. Unfortunately Jack s handler couldn t produce and it was taken as a non-productive. Both dogs were sent on. At 18 Sara was picked up by mutual agreement between she and the judges for a bump to flush. At 22 coming over the boy scout bridge and into the next field, Jack had his second find, which also resulted in a pick up for a non-productive. BRACE 24 Jazz s Sweetest Little Secret - Bob Burchett and FC/AFC RC s Ruff Ranger - Rob Richter. This brace cut loose from the bottom of the derby field and both dogs went immediately to hunting hard. Secret made it to 15 minutes before she succumbed to temptation and grabbed a wet bird. Ranger however put on show for the entire hour with 4 total finds, excellent manners, very good range, application and solid consistent style in some very, very wet, cold and adverse conditions. BRACE 25 FC DERAiled - Cindy Cropek and FC grousehavens Star of Auten - Craig Shaw. This was to be very short brace over all. Star was picked up at the 12 minute mark and Teddy, although running well was a tad deaf to his handler in the rain. He had his first bird at 13

5 7 minutes handling it with all of his manners intact. His second bird however came after a long extended absence and when he returned Cindy discovered that he had scooped one up along the way. Teddy was picked up by his handler at 24 minutes. Both of these dogs will likely be back next year and from what little was seen, could potentially be contenders once again then. BRACE 26 AFC Eibhear of Auten - Ron Telfare and FC Windy Hill s Ike - Delmar McCallister. Bear put down a very strong and powerful run for his entire hour. He hunted well, took his edges nicely and in general did a great job over all. He was doing such a bang up job that the judges were captivated and over rode the handler a time or two, hoping to watch this up and comer handle some birds. Lady Luck would elude Ron and Bear today as did the birds. Ike broke away hard and to the right of the course. He had three solid finds to accompany his run but the handle was loose in the wind and rainy conditions. On his third find he buried his handler deep in the trees and took steps at the shot. At 28 minutes Ike was picked up by mutual decision between handler and judges. On any other day, these boys could have easily won this challenge but today it was just not to be. Looking forward to seeing Ike and Bear again next year with another year of seasoning under their belts. BRACE 27 DC Barney s Hi Proof Ronrico - Bob Burchett and FC Spring Hill Pancho Del Prado - Steve Lauterbach. Breaking away from the gun dog parking lot one has to wonder who the heck fed these two rocket fuel for breakfast? Fast start doesn t even begin to describe the speed that was displayed by these two. So captivating was the performance that hoods were pushed off and everyone seemed to sit a little taller in the saddle for a better view of the show. The rain had slowed to a mist giving a break to these two for almost the entire hour. Rico displayed excellent ground speed, experience in application, good manners and style on his two finds. His hour of work was solid and compelling. Pancho s first find was in the first field on the south side of the levee, which unfortunately ended in a non-productive. This didn t seem to take any wind away from Pancho however as he went back to hunting hard, keeping the pace he had set, taking his edges nicely and doing his best to come up with more birds. Pancho scorched the course for a solid 50 minutes but didn t have any more bird work within his hour. BRACE 28 DC Wild Mtn s Lone Star Rendezvous - Brian Riggle (in season) ran as a bye dog. After waiting nearly a week to be turned loose, Jade made a run for the roses for all of 12 minutes before her handler, knowing what was on the score sheet knew that today would not be Jade s day. He cut the judges loose but took Jade around as a reward for being locked away from the boys for so long. The report that came back was that she did a respectable job with three finds, and stop to flush until 55 minutes when she too succumbed to the temptation of soggy wet birds and grabbed one. Oh well maybe next year her hormones and the calendar will line up in her favor. These 4 days were filled with lots of new memories made, good friends from near and far, moments of heavenly highs for jobs that were done right and bitter disappointment when Lady Luck seemed to have turned her back. It was the 25th ABC National Open Gun Dog Championship that will be recorded down in the history books as being well run and successful. A special thanks to our sponsors: Purina who supplied dog food for all entrants and the winners, and Tri-Tronics provided a collar to the winner. Judges Ed Janulis, Bill Landress and Ken Chenoweth were given a broad spectrum from which to choose and in the end their choices were not only good ones, but they were clearly and without a doubt the best dogs of the 54 that came to the line. Congratulations to the winners AMERICAN BRITTANY CLUB NATIONAL OPEN GUN DOG CHAMPIONSHIP 1hr (54S) Judges: Ed Janulis, Bill Landress & Ken Chenoweth Champion FC/AFC Peter Gunn, by NAFC/FC/AFC Walker s Gunner x Bullet s Renegade Miss Megan; o/h Jim Carter Runner Up - FC Sniksoh Sally, by FC/AFC Sniksoh Little Rascal x sniksoh Next Gen; o Philip & Louise Corlew, h Bob Burchett 3rd - Oz II, by FC/AFC Tee-Bone x FC Countess Mon Petite Whiz; o John & Allison Cotton, h Kevin Stonehouse 4th - FC/AFC RC s Ruff Ranger, by FC/AFC RC s Rone Ranger x Angel s Lucky Starshine; o Robert & Carol Richter, h Rob Richter Judge s Award of Merit NGDC/FC/AFC Hit s For Pete s Sake, o Ralph & Judy Kiracofe, h Judy Kiracofe Photo to the left, of our fellow Brittany lovers from Norway, presenting a beautiful crystal etched vase to National Open Gun Dog Champion Peter Gunn, with Drew and Jim Carter Photo above of the Carter family, Jim, Drew and Caden, with new National Open Gun Dog Champion Peter Gunn. 14